Company branded wearable technology

Wearable technology is becoming much more commonplace and companies are expanding the use of these products in the workplace to improve business performance. The robust marketing opportunities and potential for innovative campaigns make company branded wearables the product to watch for 2015.

San Francisco based customer relationship management company, Salesforce, recently carried out a study into wearable technology in business, which found 86% of survey respondents plan to invest more in applications for smart watches, lanyards and eyewear over the next year.

Of those respondents who are already using wearable technology in the workplace, 79% agree that the technology is, or will be, strategic to the company’s future success and 76% report improvements in business performance since incorporating wearables into their company processes.

The technology also promises excellent opportunities as gifts for valued customers. Currently, the study found the use of wearables by customers is being led by integration with mobile devices and loyalty programs, point of sale applications and immersive customer experiences.

The most popular wearable products are smart watches, with 62% of those surveyed using, piloting or planning to use smartwatches in the next two years. Digital lanyards and smart glasses rank second and third for their expected impact on business. RFID enabled badges and lanyards are already regularly utilised for conferences and exhibitions to manage visitor registration and collect data.

Wearable devices that monitor fitness and physical health are also growing in popularity, offering brands in the health, beauty and fitness industries a lot of new marketing opportunities. Research conducted by Havas Worldwide from an online survey of 10,131 people aged 18+ in 28 global markets, showed that nearly half (45%) of the US market is accepting of the technology.

A market leader in wearable fitness technology, Fitbit recently signed a partnership deal with creative rewards agency, TLC Marketing Worldwide. TLC clients will now be offered the opportunity to reward their customers with a free Fitbit product. Commenting on the partnership, Nick True, Chairman of TLC Marketing said: “More and more customers are taking a proactive approach and responsibility for their own health and fitness, and wearable tech, smartphones and apps are rapidly becoming key user platforms. We’ve got a couple of our clients eager to use the products in their marketing campaigns already.”

This example shows that demand is high for using wearables in advertising, and throughout 2015 we can expect to see a lot more product development. The potential for company branded versions of these must-have items is huge and offers companies the chance to make a massive impact with their marketing campaigns.

Why don’t you get in touch to let us know how you plan to get involved in the wearable tech craze?